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Author
Topic: Homelessness (Read 4769 times)

So I have a dilemma. I have been homeless since April. I have been staying at my campus ministry which has everything but a shower. Since then I have started Stribild (Love it. No copay). Im in school fulltime and from Michigan. I live in Atlanta and have a michigan driver's license. To be honest I had never thought of case management until I was homeless.

I reached out to some ASO's but they all told me they couldnt help me because I do not have a Georgia ID. I am registered to vote in GA. Due to finaid I wont be in school next semester and I just dont know what to do. Any advice? Suggestions?

Is there any way you could get a GA ID? The same manner in which you were able to procure Stribald should have resources to help you at least transfer services. Can campus medical service not tie you into Atlanta's ASOs?

At the very least they could refer you to a social worker, as you won't likely be able to stay on campus when you are not enrolled.

What are your numbers? It's not necessarily usual for people without income to be able to access meds so quickly in the US. Does your campus have an ID doctor?

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

I am sorry to hear you have been homeless. For clarification, are you seeking aid for meds or housing? If you got a Georgia I.D., then you would qualify for help? If so, that would seem like the easiest thing to do.

There are several homeless shelters in Atlanta that will provide you with a mailing address. I'm wondering if you can receive mail at the campus ministry? The Georgia DMV will not know if this is an actual home or not. If you are registered to vote do you have a voter registration? If you walk in the DMV with your old license and a bank statement at your new place of residence you can get a license on the spot.

I would urge you if you live in Atlanta to make an appointment to meet with a caseworker at AidAtlanta to explain your situation. It sounds like you aren't in immediate danger of being homeless and there will be time for them to help you obtain proof of residency and other help.

I understand your need to handle the short term challenge. But what is the long term situation?Is financial aid going to turn around in a year or two? Because if you are being forced to drop out of college because of cost, starting next semester, and the situation isn't going to change in a year (Sept 2014), what is your plan to continue your education? One of the strategies might be to go back to Michigan to your folks home, to regroup? If the gig is up in Atlanta, why do you want to stick around there?Stay in Atlanta, get a job, share an apartment, and go to school when its possible again? Maintaining your study momentum is pretty important so try to find solutions that address this part of the challenge... Have you applied to transfer to colleges which you can afford on your resources + available financial aid??

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

There are several homeless shelters in Atlanta that will provide you with a mailing address. I'm wondering if you can receive mail at the campus ministry? The Georgia DMV will not know if this is an actual home or not. If you are registered to vote do you have a voter registration? If you walk in the DMV with your old license and a bank statement at your new place of residence you can get a license on the spot.

I would urge you if you live in Atlanta to make an appointment to meet with a caseworker at AidAtlanta to explain your situation. It sounds like you aren't in immediate danger of being homeless and there will be time for them to help you obtain proof of residency and other help.

I use the address for the campus ministry already. I am registered to vote in Atlanta but no voter ID. I have a card they mail you to confirm youre registered to vote in. Important to note that my driver's from Michigan is expired.

I understand your need to handle the short term challenge. But what is the long term situation?Is financial aid going to turn around in a year or two? Because if you are being forced to drop out of college because of cost, starting next semester, and the situation isn't going to change in a year (Sept 2014), what is your plan to continue your education? One of the strategies might be to go back to Michigan to your folks home, to regroup? If the gig is up in Atlanta, why do you want to stick around there?Stay in Atlanta, get a job, share an apartment, and go to school when its possible again? Maintaining your study momentum is pretty important so try to find solutions that address this part of the challenge... Have you applied to transfer to colleges which you can afford on your resources + available financial aid??

The plan is to continue treatment here get a job and apply at a community college in the spring.

Thats a good plan!Are you in a 4 year college now?In addition to counting on the community college, its a good idea to start doing some smart shopping at 4-year colleges to see if anyone can offer you a better financial aid pack then your current one... Im assuming the goal is finally a Bachelors.... As you know, theres a big difference between financial aid which consists of grants and scholarships, with some loans mixed in, and "financial aid" which is ANYTHING but that - and is in fact back breaking loan debt.Look for colleges that have endowments and REAL money to give away.I say this stuff from experience, because I got priced out of one of my colleges, simply NOT enough grant money... I regrouped, though it took some time and a lot of determination. And eventually found a full scholarship - yep - tuition was completely covered, no fucking loans required. This was possible in part because I was no longer considered a dependent of my parents, who were "middle class" but not forking over the dough, because really, they didn't have it anyway. I am a college teacher now and every year deal with 3 tough kinds of ways people have to leave school. Immigration/visa issues. Financial issues. Or they flunk out.

Universities are big lumbering bureaucracies and sometimes there are brick walls that simply can't be overcome... Its up to the determination and shrewd strategy for a young person to find new solutions when faced with such brick walls. The worst thing is hanging around a project that is dead in the water, beating one's head against a wall. Its heartbreaking and soul sapping...

You need to fight for your right to be a resident, get yourself a place to live, don't look back, look forward.

Congrats on dealing so straightforward with starting treatment, too. I'm sure things will work out if you keep looking forward and keep insisting on your right to a roof over your head, food, and an education...

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I am sorry to hear you have been homeless. For clarification, are you seeking aid for meds or housing? If you got a Georgia I.D., then you would qualify for help? If so, that would seem like the easiest thing to do.

He's homeless.

Also it's not that easy to get an ID in many states now. I know NJ and FL have gotten strict and require several different forms of proof including two forms of address verification such as recent bank statement or utility bill. There may be a way around it if you can have a person testify that you live there and have them present their documents.

« Last Edit: July 19, 2013, 10:21:43 AM by LiveWithIt »

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Pray God you can copeI know you have a little life in you yet. I know you have a lot of strength left.

So I have a dilemma. I have been homeless since April. I have been staying at my campus ministry which has everything but a shower. Since then I have started Stribild (Love it. No copay). Im in school fulltime and from Michigan. I live in Atlanta and have a michigan driver's license. To be honest I had never thought of case management until I was homeless.

I reached out to some ASO's but they all told me they couldnt help me because I do not have a Georgia ID. I am registered to vote in GA. Due to finaid I wont be in school next semester and I just dont know what to do. Any advice? Suggestions?

My best advice is for you to go back to Michigan. CAll your parents of other family or friend and ask for a bus ticket if that's the cheapest way. You might not even be able to get on a plane with expired ID, I don't know.

Even with ID there is only so much an ASO can do. They may not be able to provide housing other than what is available to you now. Reach out and speak to them and ask for help to even be enrolled in their program. Say "please I need help" maybe someone will help, Don't take no for an answer. If they say they can't help ask them for help to get a GA ID. If you are turned away at the reception desk ask to speak to whoever is in charge. Don't give up. Homeless is no way to live, go back home if you have to.

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Pray God you can copeI know you have a little life in you yet. I know you have a lot of strength left.

KY doesn't require any of this-- at least they didn't a year ago. You would only need other documentation here's if you didn't have a license to surrender.

This may help. It says you can use school transcripts as documentation. You can also use medical/insurance documentation. I would assume you have that. You can use documentation from federal, state, or local aid. Oh, the license just can't be over 2 years expired, or they require something or another. Btw, ADAP on this page doesn't mean what it means to us.

The OP has been presumably diagnosed and is being treated for a serious illness with extremely expensive medication. Is he insured? Is he on ADAP? Is he on his parent's insurance? Ryan White?

If he is estranged from his parents, then he really needs to consider reaching out to more than this forum and AID Atlanta.

I still wish I knew more about his situation - where and how he is getting his care, managing to pay for doctors and meds, etc. It would shine a great deal of light on the situation and allow people like myself (I live right outside Atlanta) to steer him to an appropriate place. I was in college not so long ago, and whatever good thing that canbe said for the student health clinic, it was absolutely NOT set up for the type of lab work and prescription/followup stuff that an HIV diagnosis requires.

I am assuming the OP is not working, or isnot working enough to qualify for health benefits. If he is indigent, he absolutely neds the help of a social worker to assist in the living situation. Of course, if he is already utilizing one for access to treatment, he is already pluged in to the system at least to that degree.

If the OP is going through Fulton County public health or AID Atlanta, then he might be eligible, based on income, for several local services. However, it is unlikely that a county based health department would administer Stribad as a first-line drug for HIV, or even advocate immediate treatment at all unless the situation was dire. Normally, health departments are reluctanct to prescribe the most recent and expensive drugs as a first line of defence. Were there resistance issues or other extenuating circumstances that led to this prescription?

If the OP is accessing care through the Grady Health system/Grady IDP, he is pretty well connected already to a pretty comprehensive network of social services, including access to a social worker. However, one can only be enrolled if his/her CD4 count is less than 200 or s/he has been given an AIDS diagnosis.

I'm sorry that this post has been all over the place. Without pertinent information it's pretty impossible to respond otherwise.

I have been trying to post several relevant links, including links to the Grady IDC, Positive Impact, and Living Room, a service dedicated to helping people with HIV/AIDS find housing. For some reason I get a 403 error no mater how I try to post the urls, and I cannot even send them via private message

As soon as this glitch is fixed I will try to return to this thread and post the links, as they would be valuable to anyone with HIV in the Atlanta area.

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"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

The OP said he's covered on his parent's health insurance. The other, pertinent, questions, yet to be answered.

I am sorry I missed that information!

This is really puzzling, then. Does the OP have work? Does he have friends he can live with and pay rent?

If not, then moving temporarily back to MI seems the logical choice. Atlanta is not a city known for it's friendliness towards the homeless, and being homeless is not conducive to sustained health with HIV.

When I was in my twenties, I lived in a big house with half a dozen roommates. My rent was maybe four hundred a month, plus utilities and food. Surely people are still doing that. If the OP is LGBT and under 25, he might be eligible for help through Lost and Found, a LGBT youth organization in Atlanta that may steer him towards resources.

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"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

I hope he has friends. I know I would take my friends in and not allow them to be homeless. But it's hard to make really good close friends that would do that for you, plus they would have to have the room to take you in.

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Pray God you can copeI know you have a little life in you yet. I know you have a lot of strength left.

I hope he has friends. I know I would take my friends in and not allow them to be homeless. But it's hard to make really good close friends that would do that for you, plus they would have to have the room to take you in.

Luckily., in a college environment, it isn't hard to find roomies. Might mean putting up posters in the student union, but making good friends in your early twenties is significantly easier than doing so in your 40s.

I think the OP can manage this.

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"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

True, in your 20s you are not jaded and don't know the real nature of people.

Well, yeah, that and...

In your early 20s, you are literally thrust in the company of people. College, dorms, campus groups, you pick. You ally yourself with a larger group of people, a group that might change as you evolve/experiment, but nowhere else in your life will you be given a free pass to merge, change. and merge again with a group of people that accept and respect you.

It's harder once you start living alone in an apartment, and probably harder still once you couple up and become a homeowner/parent. I made a TON of friends in college - some of whom I am friends with today. After college? I made a few dozen doing my outreach thing in Atlanta, some of whom I am still in contact with. Past that? Well, it's a narrow niche of my quirky passions (ferrets, Star Trek, The Hobbit) and the small but remarkable number of ex-boyfriends I have recruited as friends.

This guy, whether he knows it or not, is at the prime place for forming the rest of his life with the friends he makes right now.

Dude needs to do that shit.

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"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

My first 13 years with AIDS were particularly hard on me as there was always the probability of homelessness. I was once put into a hotel under a program called CHIRP, they provided a room for 30 days and meal vouchers for myself and the person living off my disability. The CHIRP Program is paid with HOPWA funds and is administered through the ASO 's. Five years ago, a man came into my life who said he guaranteed I would never be homeless again.

Check your phone directory for any organizations which shelter homeless, some may have private rooms. Check with Catholic Services, I think they may make shelter placements. For housing, contact a case manager for HOPWA RENTAL assistance, They used to pay 1st months rent and security for any person with HIV who had an income and a letter from your parents saying they are supporting you with X amount of dollars each month. I wish you the bestMichael

The OP has been presumably diagnosed and is being treated for a serious illness with extremely expensive medication. Is he insured? Is he on ADAP? Is he on his parent's insurance? Ryan White?

If he is estranged from his parents, then he really needs to consider reaching out to more than this forum and AID Atlanta.

I still wish I knew more about his situation - where and how he is getting his care, managing to pay for doctors and meds, etc. It would shine a great deal of light on the situation and allow people like myself (I live right outside Atlanta) to steer him to an appropriate place. I was in college not so long ago, and whatever good thing that canbe said for the student health clinic, it was absolutely NOT set up for the type of lab work and prescription/followup stuff that an HIV diagnosis requires.

I am assuming the OP is not working, or isnot working enough to qualify for health benefits. If he is indigent, he absolutely neds the help of a social worker to assist in the living situation. Of course, if he is already utilizing one for access to treatment, he is already pluged in to the system at least to that degree.

If the OP is going through Fulton County public health or AID Atlanta, then he might be eligible, based on income, for several local services. However, it is unlikely that a county based health department would administer Stribad as a first-line drug for HIV, or even advocate immediate treatment at all unless the situation was dire. Normally, health departments are reluctanct to prescribe the most recent and expensive drugs as a first line of defence. Were there resistance issues or other extenuating circumstances that led to this prescription?

If the OP is accessing care through the Grady Health system/Grady IDP, he is pretty well connected already to a pretty comprehensive network of social services, including access to a social worker. However, one can only be enrolled if his/her CD4 count is less than 200 or s/he has been given an AIDS diagnosis.

I'm sorry that this post has been all over the place. Without pertinent information it's pretty impossible to respond otherwise.

I have been trying to post several relevant links, including links to the Grady IDC, Positive Impact, and Living Room, a service dedicated to helping people with HIV/AIDS find housing. For some reason I get a 403 error no mater how I try to post the urls, and I cannot even send them via private message

As soon as this glitch is fixed I will try to return to this thread and post the links, as they would be valuable to anyone with HIV in the Atlanta area.

On Dad's insurance. Both Parents Im estranged from. Dad less so, but Dont know where he lives. Mom completely.

Cool to know! I access care through AbsoluteCare as well. Don't they have a social worker or access to one on site? I know they have everything from nutritionists to education folks. They used to have a therapist on site some days, but not sure if she is affiliated with them anymore.

Regardless, they are a good place for HIV treatment, especially early HIV treatment.

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"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."